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7 Worst Batsuits Ever, Ranked
Batman is prepared for everything that can come his way, with contingency plans upon contingency plans. More often than not, he usually has a fancy new suit to help him. Sometimes they’re the coolest thing ever. They get turned into an action figure that lives on our shelves forever, or end up on lists like this. We all know which costumes are coming to mind, too; the Silver Age classics come to mind. While there are a million different Silver Age costumes Batman’s worn. We’re gonna focus on the ones that have poor execution more than anything. A for effort, though, thankfully, we got plenty of amazing suits to counterbalance these.
Fans have rejoiced at the new batsuit in Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez’s Batman #1. The writing on the wall was that fans wanted a simpler approach to Batman. As great as his stuff has been since the 2000s, it’s long been time for the return of the “Caped Crusader.” “The Dark Knight” had his time in the sun, but it needs to be put to rest. And we’re hoping for a similar approach to new eras of costume variation in the future.
In the meantime, here are the worst of the worst when it comes to Batman costumes.
7) Azbat Suit (Version 2)
When Azrael jumped into the role of Batman during Knightfall, his overdesigned Batsuit was unique. When he added even more technology to it, it was doing too much. If the suit was from an alternate timeline, it would have worked a lot better. For the main DC Universe continuity in the 1990s? It was the definition of “overdone.”
While it wasn’t designed by Rob Liefeld, it still has the signature pouches, bulky shoulder armor, and rampant technology that’s often Liefeld’s signature. At least the costume had feet, but that didn’t save it from fan dismay. If you take the bat out of the equation, it’s fine as is. Although it loses something as a Batman suit. That’s a perfect metaphor for Knightfall as a whole.
6) Flashpoint
The Flashpoint batsuit began as an alternate timeline suit. Later, once it joined the main DC continuity, that’s where it went wrong. The suit made sense for a darker and grizzled Thomas Wayne, but having him stay this way and be a villain doesn’t make a ton of sense. A lot can be said about how this version of Batman was used. But in Rebirth, the suit was just wrong for a villain.
Having Thomas Wayne stay is one thing, but keeping him as a villain ruins what the suit meant in Flashpoint. It’s made the fans turn on the suit from a story where it made sense. With the alternate timeline issue, the gun holsters add a greater sense of fear for those who wanted Batman. It says so much about what happened with Batman’s Rebirth title and should have been kept in the past. It’s the classic story of too much of a good thing.
5) Rainbow Suit
The rainbow suit is the only Silver Age one we still think looks goofy. The story it was used in works, but when the suits all merged, it lost us. The idea of Bruce wearing different suits of different colors every night was a solid concept, although it looked better separated and had a certain charm to it. Mixing them all into one suit felt like an overload of Silver Ageism. The only reason this suit should ever come back is for the yearly Pride special. I’m surprised that they haven’t used it yet.
4) Citizen Wayne
The best way I can describe the Citizen Wayne costume is, it was made to be an action figure – but not the good kind with the McFarlane toys label, more along the lines of his competitors. The strange cape, along with the very strange gold trim mask, just looks like an absolute mess. It’s trying to invoke new imagery, but it’s just not the same. It feels like another alternate universe suit, but once again in the main universe. Once again, another awful suit that should have worked a lot better than it did.
3) Failsafe Batman
As it stands, Failsafe became an instant classic as a Batman rogue and story. After disappearing at the end of the story, we didn’t know what to expect from the maniacal android next. With Batman’s alternate personality of “Zur En-Arrh” taking over the robot’s body, we thought that would be the end. But things went a step too far when he decided to don his own batsuit. Not a bad idea, but it looks so goofy.
Sure, adding a bat emblem let the characters know it was supposed to be “Batman”. But adding a cape and cowl to a bat-shaped robotic head feels redundant. The colors themselves are nice with the hues of purple, but feel out of place. This does a lot of the same issues Azrael’s suit has, but worse. If Zur had kept the body and removed the rest, it would look a lot cleaner.
2) Stan Lee’s Batman
Much has been said about the Stan Lee DC stories over the years. His Batman design is the prime example of what went wrong. He took the name literally and made Batman more like Man-Bat. Opting for a realistic Bat mask and wing-suit ruins the mystique around Batman as a whole. It goes right for the urban legend and makes him what he shouldn’t be.
It wasn’t Bruce Wayne and it should be treated as its own thing, but it was literally called Batman. A much too literal name for what should be a lot simpler, even if created by Stan Lee. The suit lives in infamy for many fans and should be remembered as the greatest glimpse into a different timeline.
1) Yellow Paint
We had to end the list with the infamous yellow paint costume. Utilized by Batman in All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, Frank Miller is the one to thank for this abomination. Because Green Lanterns are weak against the color yellow, Batman made a point by painting himself head to toe yellow to fight back against Green Lantern, at the cost of many readers’ sanity.
It was done once, and the fans never let Frank Miller forget about it. This is the cherry on the sundae of the bizarre story that is All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. If the image itself doesn’t pique the interest, go read the book for yoursel. I’m sure most of us (sadly) already have.
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